Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Vampire Hunter D.

If fortune favors me, I'll have some extra time in the near future. Maybe I'll get where I wanted to be in this story two months ago, lol.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Intruders

D sprung to his feet with the rest of the audience, clapping in glee at how the tables had turned. His usual solemn expression broken, he looked more like the child he was with the sparkle of exhilaration in his eyes. There was no question as to who would win; with his vision he knew there would be no other option. Because of the young man's final dash, there would be no contest. Claire shouted in joy beside him, practically climbing onto him as the challengers ended their match. Bakura would be safe from whatever fate Jim or their other captors had envisioned. That was, so long as they held true to their word.

Wrapped up in the eagerly awaited conclusion, the boy had not expected the instantaneous shrill blast of an alarm, loud enough to shock him into covering his ears. He crouched low, trying to get away from the sound—the speakers were so close! —and was pulled up by rough hands, shoved to follow where the other children were being led. D frantically searched for Claire, not wanting to part from her, and felt her collide with his back as children behind her started pushing them both forward. Whatever was happening frightened the younger residents.

"Finish the game!" He heard someone call, but he had been shoved out of the arena before he could look to see who had said it.

As soon as they left the arena, they were surrounded by pandemonium. There were a few people guiding others, so there was some type of flow, but the bulk of the population so used to the mundane did not know how to handle this strange occurrence. D reached back to grab onto Claire's hand but was shoved to the left. His balance took a hit as he stumbled over his feet, but he steadied himself in record time. Unfortunately, he had stumbled into a new line, flowing diagonally to where his friend was being tugged. He pushed against the rush of people, dodged between legs, yet even then, once free of the entangled mess, it had been just long enough to lose sight of the girl.

"Claire!" he cried into the racing crowd, pressing his body against a nearby wall to stay out of the way of the hurrying adults. He listened but did not hear her voice. 'She must not be able to hear me,' he thought, worried. It was only then that he realized, for the first time in a long while, he was on his own in a bad situation.

"We could just leave now," his left hand offered, "Might be better for everyone in the long run if you aren't where he might think you are."

It was almost rational; D was a skilled child…if he stayed out of sight…if he was careful with his urges…

"I'm not ditching her or Bakura-sama," he growled back, ashamed he had even entertained the thought for an instant. "Help me find her."

"What do you want me to do?! Listen for her? Kid there's a damn stampede if you haven't noticed! Also, if I might add, what I could do to thin this out might hurt a few people. Do you really want that?"

"Whatever," the boy muttered, and watched the crowd. He had to time it right. "Be useful to me as just a hand then. I'll do it myself."

He leapt forward, darting between the legs and bodies of the occupants of the underground city. With his speed—and now practiced agility—he was able to maneuver through them in a fluid motion, almost as if he had danced with them. Some had even slowed their steps for a moment: recognizing there had been a change to the scenery, but unable to decipher what they had seen.

Taking a route that looked somewhat familiar, D navigated the crowded halls of the city. No one paid him any mind; too many were focused on their own fears. He was grateful for this. Under normal circumstances, a child wandering around on his own usually inspired some sort of reaction.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" the countenanced carbuncle questioned, flabbergasted by the boy's choice of direction.

"If I can't find her first, then I'll find our weapons." There were, of course, signs on the walls, directing people to shops and sleeping quarters. He remembered passing a storage room on their way to the arena. They probably had more than one, but logic would dictate that in proximity to their holding place, this would be the best place to store the weapons they had on them at the time of their capture.

"A sane person would just hide."

The boy ignored him and moved on.

Not too far from where D had come to his conclusion and formulated his plan, Claire rested beside one of the many carved doorways, crouched in hiding. She had managed to slip away from the amalgamation of people hurrying about, but in the process, she had also lost sight of her friend. After allowing herself a moment to panic, she shook the distracting thoughts from her mind and backtracked. The girl was not about to let some Outies tell her where she had to go.

She figured finding D would be difficult. Unfortunately, she had not given much consideration as to how large this city seemed when a friend was not nearby. Wandering the hallways, almost grateful for the panic, Claire found herself trapped in her own maze. A maze without any relevant hints to point her to where her friend might be.

Claire paused in her search, both to analyze the fork in the road and to wonder if standing still might be the best option. At that moment, a full-grown adult ran past her from the left fork, knocking her down as he unceremoniously shoved her out of his way. It was no one she recognized, but that made little difference.

"Bastard," she grumbled, examining herself for any long-lasting injuries. She had scrapes on both palms of her hands from catching herself in the fall, but aside from an aching backside, no other harm had come to her. It still hurt, thought.

Shifting to where the two areas split and resting her head against the wall there, the girl realized she had no plan of action. D would have smugly told her "I told you so"; had he not warned her she acted without thinking too often? She wondered if she should not have just followed the group she had been with. They might have known where they were going. But…she did not want to be with them.

"I'm not a coward, either," she hissed at herself. "I don't need anyone I don't know to tell me what to do. D isn't with them, and neither is Bakura. I've gotta find both of them and then we can get out of here!"

As she proclaimed this, she heard a strange whine come from the left hallway. Claire frowned, unable to pinpoint what the sound was. It reverberated through the passageway, a strange metallic melody that covered her in goosebumps. Backing up around the right corner, she pressed herself against the wall and observed the running masses. 'Shouldn't they have a better plan than running around like this?' she thought before the pulsing whine paired with a noise she did recognize. One with more than just a single note.

The first person fell from a bullet wound to their leg, and that was enough to make those running with fear—but with an understanding of where to go—form into a screaming mob that lost its direction. Those nearby ran clear from the area she occupied. Whatever was being used was rapidly firing shots that pinged around the hallways. Unseen empty shells clattered against the floor. Holes dug into the walls before her, and she scurried deeper into the abandoned hallway, covering her mouth as she saw someone round the other side of the wall, coming into view.

In their hands they carried a weapon she had only seen once: in a comic that she had read in their time up in the mountains. Inefficient bullet wise, and difficult to maneuver…she could have sworn Mr. Sam had told her things like Mini guns no longer had any use in this world. Not when the need to save bullets was a must.

This man must not have gotten the memo. Eyes glazed over, his skin a sickly pallor, the invader turned his head left and right, searching for survivors, before their focus returned to the shot individual. Claire held her breath as she backed away, shaking, feeling ill, as she saw the person brusquely release the life from the other's body. The figure of a man slumped over the other, blood dripping from the knife and it brought back memories of her time alone in her home before her life had changed. At least then she had a weapon if a man such as this one was to ever come by. She felt defenseless there watching as the man's mouth opened. She prayed he did not see her. A strange clicking noise exited his maw before he cleared his throat and spoke. Claire froze in place, now pinching her nose as well, her lungs aflame with the lack of oxygen. Still, she refused to breathe. It would make a sound. She was no idiot.

"In, I'm in, finally in," the man gurgled, his head turning back and forth again. Foam began forming at the edges of his mouth. "I'm in. Their will to be done."

'Who's will?' she wondered in silence, willing this person to leave, specifically out of this place. She needed to breathe.

The man paused and cocked his head. He was listening for, or to, something. Then a laugh escaped him, grating and phlegmy. Something was wrong with him. She knew it.

"The salt of the Sea, I'll bring it to them. They will know they err. They must learn. They must bow."

The Sea! Claire, face turning purple from the lack of air, could not believe her ears. These were the people that they had confused them for?! She would have felt enraged if she did not fear for her life. Instead, she silently watched the man stalk off, carrying his weapon of death close to his body. She waited until his footsteps faded, and for the sound of his firing gun fill the halls once more.

She released her mouth and nose, gasping for breath. The left had to be the entrance then. It was the logical answer to how that monster gotten down there. She knew she could not go up there, not yet. If there were people up there, waiting, she needed her weapon. She needed more than that, but it was a step in the right direction.

Claire took a shaky breath, looking down the right tunnel, and the one the man had walked down. She drummed her fingers against her thigh in thought and after a moment followed him. She had come from that way. If she could, she had to warn people better than the alarm had. D might still be on that side. Bakura might still be on that side. Also…

Maybe she could find a way to stop the man. He would be easier to disarm if he did not expect a fight. The girl only hoped she would find something to help her with this task along the way. Using the leftover shells to track him, Claire trailed the path of death, thinking of her parents. Her father had been the first to teach her how to track. Samuel had simply honed what skills she had. Her mother had taught her pretty much everything else. She thought on what could have been—how her life might have differed, and the lives of the people here, if death did not seem to chase her down every road she took.

This must be what D felt, she mused. It would explain why he was so gloomy all the time. Yet, if children where thinking such things, Claire could hardly fathom what might be going on in the mind of the one constant adult in her life. She hoped he would not go down the same path as her parents. She hoped she was not that unlucky.

Bakura kept his sights on Jael as she weaved through the corridors that lead upward. He had an inkling to where they were headed and was not surprised to see the doors open to a room that hovered over the arena. Seats once facing the crowd and controlled chaos were spun to face the entrance the two walked through. Once again, he was surrounded by the members of the Counsel. They did not look pleased.

"This is rather unique timing," the one in blue said. Mai glared at the council member with a look as sharp as daggers. The other members had a gamut of expressions (at least on the part of the faces that they exposed to the world).

"What's going on?" Jael asked, ignoring the council member's response.

"There's been a breach," the one with the pink shirt replied. "Those that took your places outside after your shift were barely able to send the warning before…"

The woman gasped. Color drained from her face, and Bakura wondered if he should not offer her a stabilizing hand. "They're dead?"

Mai nodded, the first of the Counsel to stand. "Someone ran the video to us and others prepared to defend the area. They were only supposed to set the alarm to go off if the intruders got past these defenses."

"I know that!" Jael spat.

Mai shook her head at the woman. "I'm glad you know your job. I was explaining it to him." She pointed to Bakura and what eyes had not been upon him now focused in interest.

"Isn't it strange that he shows up and this all happens?"

"Never in all our time here has such a thing ever occurred so…quickly."

"Maybe a distraction?"

"He played the game," Mai said, jumping to the young man's defense. The others faced her with surprised expressions. "None of the others who we thought were with them ever wanted to play."

The realization that Mai knew him hit them once again. This time, instead of seeing it as a measure of safety, a few members eyed her with scrutiny. Had she been one of them all along? She gazed right back at them, defiant, her face set. Resolute.

Jael's attention flicked back and forth between her rival and the council she wished to sit on. Bakura thought on what it might mean for her if she were to turn on Mai. She would get the position she so coveted. It would mean little to her if she had to sacrifice Bakura, as well. He did not want to think it, but it was fact. If it turned sour, he would give up this patient following of their rules. He wanted no part in their politics.

The short silence as everyone considered each other broke when Jael made her move. "He even beat me fair and square," she said, corroborating with Mai. It seemed that she would not use him as a stepping stone to a higher position. Her fear-inducing appearance was not indicative to how she worked internally. It was good to know.

"I don't mean to butt in…" Bakura began.

"You're going to anyway," the one in yellow scoffed.

He rolled his eyes. "What is going to happen, now? Are we all just going to sit here and let whatever is out there attack us?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what good is it going to do you to keep pointing the finger at me. I have no weapons. Someone out there—well, now in here if they got past the defenses—must have something. You have people to protect."

"What, then, should we do with the likes of you?"

"Listen, I just want to get my family and get out of here. I never wanted to be a part of this. If you need me to help you, I will, if only to keep my people safe."

"The last time this happened, too many of our own died!" Mai snapped before anyone could object to his offer. She had her own point to make. "The first Counsel, the ones that we put our faith into, blew their chances because of inaction. Do you all want to suffer the same? Didn't you, 'Bright' Ray, lose your brother to the members of The Arid Sea?"

"You keep his name out of your mouth, 'Valentine'."

"I'll do so when you get your head out of your ass." She whirled, her outfit swirling around her as she let her next words bite into the council member in blue. "Annika, dear. You are so quick to judge my friend, but you couldn't possibly know the things that he's been through. Are you really going to be so stupid as to let a willing fighter go? One who would fight for our cause?"

"We've been through a lot!" the council member shot back, touching at her delicate mask. "It's grand that you know him but none of us do! How are we supposed to trust him when this is happening at his arrival?!"

"You trust me, don't you?" Mai asked, affronted this time. "Like you said, we've been through so much together! We started as members of the Counsel at the same time! Have a little faith in my judgment!"

Annika, the woman in blue, turned to Bakura, clearly fighting what she thought was her better judgment. "You're willing to fight for us?"

"Your enemy is my enemy," Bakura said. It seemed to satisfy her and the rest of the Counsel.

"Settled then!" Jael exclaimed, arm once again around Bakura's shoulders. "Let's hear what you've got for us right now, and we'll hop to it. Y'know I'm not gonna let you down!"

'She's so touchy,' he thought again, in annoyance. He did not bother to move away, however. It would be a waste of time. Instead, he stood at rapt attention as instructions were doled out.

Minutes later, Bakura and Jael made their way through oddly abandoned hallways, equipped with weapons from a stash that had been hidden away for just these circumstances. They also wore similarly colored sashes around their belts, the best form of uniform that they had in this situation. Bakura felt the weight of the gun and knife at his belt and almost missed the absence of them. Death always followed these tools of destruction, but it was a necessary evil at this moment. If they did not find the intruder or intruders, and deal with them before it was too late, all these people's hard work would be destroyed. More importantly, he would never be able to—

"Can you hear me?" Mai called from the headset that Bakura wore.

"Yes," he replied.

"Loud and clear," Jael added, giving the air a thumbs up. Her playful demeanor appeared during such moments, even with the serious look of death upon her face. There would be no quarter for those who infiltrated her home. He did not blame her.

"Good. Intel from inside told us that there's only one who made it inside, and they've got a Mini gun."

"A Mini gun?" Jael asked. "Where the hell did they get that from?"

"No idea."

"Maybe they got if from the same place Robin found the rocket launcher?" a familiar voice filtered in. It was the individual in green.

"Damn. We should have gone back for the rest when we had that break last month."

"Might have been gone even by then."

"Not helping, Daniel. Anyway, how's everything on your end?"

"My intel says that everyone has moved to their safety areas. There have been a few casualties so far, but numbers are better than what they could be. The intruder is currently moving into the west side of town."

"Back toward the arena?" Jael questioned. "Will you be safe?"

"We're fine. We can't hear anything, so he's probably going north-west down the tunnels. Our route isn't going to take us there."

"What about the children?" Bakura inquired. "Where are they situated?"

"They're more southerly. Closer to the exit. Last I checked, they were still doing a thorough head count to be sure, but those I spoke with say from the quick check that everyone was present. The kids should be fine; he's way past that point after all."

"Shit," Jael interjected, skidding to a halt. Bakura followed suit. "The armory!"

"What about it?" he asked, startled.

"It's near one of the entrances of the arena!"

Bakura could hear the one called Daniel scoff into the microphone. "I doubt that this monster knows anything about how we built this place. His path is probably to find people and shoot at random. Frighten us into submission with the deaths he causes. We just need to take him down quickly and be done with it."

"If he stumbles upon it—or can read—we'll be in a shitty spot, don't you think?"

Jael spun on her heel and started hurrying back to the arena area. Bakura ran after her, listening as she bickered with the Counsel about their safety. Her familiarity with them must have been the reason they were able to hold such a conversation; words he thought he would have been killed for (and probably would have) passed between the others with the same swiftness that they took to maneuver to the other side of the arena. Yet, the young man felt the gravitas of the situation was being danced around. The Counsel was so focused on this one intruder, and Jael on their safety as the Counsel traveled to their main control room. He did agree with her on one thing: not protecting the armory could spell disaster for them all.

"There must be more people up there," Bakura said, adding to a conversation that felt like it was moving around him rather than with him. The chattering silenced. "People helping the intruder," he added tentatively.

"Of course, there are," Annika said.

"I think he means close by," Mai stated.

There was a long silence that punctuated her statement. Recognizing he finally had their attention, Bakura continued. "When I was caught, there was all of this protocol. Obviously, you guys have things figured out down here, but…you people have been fighting each other ever since the strange changes in the environment. Capturing someone like me isn't like capturing someone like him." He paused and let out a sharp breath before continuing his next statement, knowing with how quickly they were prone to jump down his throat, it could be damning. "I'm not working with them, but they might have been watching you, just like you watched for them. They might have been testing you to see how you brought people into your society. Then, they might have waited for someone unaware of either side to stumble in and create a diversion. An unintended one I might add. They might have used this confusion to launch a surprise attack. If so…if so, then what's not to say that they might have a plan of action. Something more than just tossing someone at random into a well-maintained society? Something to stop you guys from fighting back? The armory is an issue, so one of us should go there, but we also have to formulate a way to get rid of whoever else might be up there."

"Don't worry, we've thought of that. We're sending others to cover the exit again," Mai replied. "There were others on guard duty that weren't affected, and they should be in position soon."

"But what if those above have weapons as damaging as what this intruder has? Dan…Daniel? He said there was a chance that the other weapons might have been taken."

There was a pause. "The name is Counsel Member, Daniel of the Depths to you—and we did take most of the weapons—but go on."

'Are you serious right now,' Bakura thought in agitation. "Is there a back way that we can ambush them?"

"We have a few hidden entrances."

"One was the way we were able to catch you guys off-guard," Jael cut in, nudging his side. He would have been irritated if she had not given him a meaningful look as she detached her headset. Muting his microphone by doing the same, he motioned for her to continue.

"Dealing with the intruder would be easier," she pointed out.

"I know," Bakura said.

"And I know what you're getting at," she sighed, smoothing out her already tightly bound hair. "You don't need to. You've proven yourself enough. Just help us get this fucker and let us do the rest."

"I would, but I don't think I have proven myself enough to these people. I have my children's safety to think about."

"Let me straighten them out after this, then."

"If Mai can't fully get them to trust me—and she knew me before all of this—do you think your words will make much of a difference?"

"Maybe," she grumbled, winding the wire of her headset between her fingers. In a sudden gesture, she nearly tugged the chord in half with the force she exerted. "You'd be going in alone!"

"You sound worried for me."

"So, what if I am?" she snapped. "I don't hate you. I was cautious about you, for good reason, and confident I'd win in the game. None of that shit means I want you to die."

"They're calling for us," Bakura said, tapping the plastic of his headset as the sound of the Counsel's voices echoed through the hall through the main walkie-talkie speaker.

"Just tell me you've got something planned that could save your ass if things go bad if you are going to actually offer yourself up as some sacrificial lamb."

"I've got something planned."

Jael eyed him for a second before plugging in her headphones. "Liar," she said, shaking her head. "But fine."

"Fine?" one of the other council members asked.

"He's got a plan. And I think it's a good one."

Bakura smiled at her in appreciation, but she only shook her head. She was affronted and concerned. Both things that he could understand, but his plan would work best if someone who knew the city better remained inside of it. She could be angry all she liked; he felt D and Claire would be safer with her nearby.

"I'm expendable," Bakura said, waving away Jael's anxious glance. "From what I've seen, Jael is one of your best, and has a lot of your attention. We don't want them to find any of your other entrances, therefore we can't have a lot of people ambushing from any of those areas. That means, those who do go up there are putting themselves at a disadvantage. As Jael has pointed out to me, facing this intruder is going to be an easier task than surprising the enemy."

"Continue."

'I was going to,' he thought irritably. "Let me be the one to ambush. I'm good at creating surprises and diversions." 'Being them, mostly,' he thought before continuing. "The only reason I am offering this is because I don't want you to lose one of your best, and you have collateral that I will be back for the two children that are in your care."

There was a silence on the line for an extended period of time. Too much time, in Bakura's opinion. One would think there would be a little more urgency in their decision-making considering the circumstances. He and Jael held their positions as they waited, Jael also antsy to move forward with whatever plan they had. Finally, Mai responded.

"Only if you are sure, Bakura-kun," she said. "But don't call yourself expendable again."

"Got it," he said, smiling to himself.

"I'll guide you to one of the more distant exits. That way you can get a better look at what's going on up there before you jump in. Jael, you know what to do."

"But of course," Jael replied, and turned to Bakura before she left for her mission. "You better come back to us, hero."

Bakura gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled. This time, her bared teeth did not appear as threatening.

Soon, the young man found himself at the very manhole that had been used to surprise his small group. He took in the filtered, earthy air; the last moment of calm that he figured he would have in a while. He wished Mai luck with her Counsel, Jael with her mission, and D and Claire with a safe place to reside for even a small amount of time. Then he pressed upon the metal and slid it open. The sound was jarring, but with his foes in the distance the sound posed little threat to him.

It did not take long for him to find a perch on what had once been a two-story home. Using binoculars that he had been allowed to borrow, he propped himself at the corner of one of the few windows still intact. Well, an intact frame; the pane of glass had been shattered out of it ages ago. From this vantage point he was able to survey the field, just like Mai had promised.

The battlefield was already bloody; the line between the first contact and the most recent scuffle a fine line of clean, cracked earth amidst two swatches of brilliant red amidst the sunset. Even at this distance, the sounds of gunshots and fighting filled the air. The smell of death wafted on the downwind current of air, making Bakura scrunch his nose in disgust.

It was shocking to think that the light fading on this day was the very same that had lit their path that morning, and their capture hours ago. It already felt like days had gone by. If they had strayed away from this abandoned wreck of a city and holed up somewhere else for their rest, there was a chance that none of this would have transpired. Then again, he had gotten to see Mai again. That had been a fortunate coincidence. It could have been worse; like the strange amalgamation they had been dragged into before, run by three sadistic individuals. Bakura stored away the binoculars as he pushed away the memory and began a careful, yet swift, trek toward the fight.

As he got closer, he pulled his blade from its sheath and slid one of the earpads away from his ear to be able to hear around him better. There was a crackle of static for an instant before Mai's voice travelled to him. Bakura positioned himself behind a crumbling wall once he was certain he could not be seen and focused on her voice.

"Don't talk, but I can see you. Give me the peace sign if you can hear me." Good. For once, Bakura had hoped there were hidden cameras nearby. He raised the hand without the blade and provided her with the gesture, even offering a slightly cheesy smile that he swiveled around, just to be certain she saw it.

"Cute," she said, sarcasm dripping off the word. "There's a lookout to your left about 5 meters away. Hidden by some dead shrubbery."

Bakura gave her another peace sign, a symbol of confirmation and thanks. The static disappeared from his headset, and he readied himself to attack. It was time to put the training Ewan had provided to use.

Thanks to Mai's information, and the training he had participated in, taking down the lookout took no time at all. As he watched them bleed out, muted by his strike, Bakura took the time to analyze one of the members of The Arid Sea. What he saw perplexed him.

These people looked not much different than those below. It was suddenly clear as to why Bakura wore the purple sash around his waist—it was not just a reflection on the council member who held faith in him, it was the color coding, their uniforms (if being generous) that truly separated the people of the underground with the likes of the ones above. Well, that and the strange glazed look in their eyes. At first, it had been something he had taken for death coming to claim his unknowing victims; it took one particularly vicious fighter that did not go down easily to show Bakura that the dead stare did not come from his blade. Many that held that glazed look seemed unwell—their skin was tainted with a sickish pallor, their blood vessels bruised looking or leaking. Some appeared as healthy as him. Yet, they all had that glazed stare. Bakura doubted that in the thick of things this was an easily defined trait. He even supposed that only those looking for something wrong would have ever seen it, too. It was the only reason he could fathom as to why the cluster of lookouts and fighters that had taken them underground had not figured the truth immediately. It was a bit of knowledge he could bring to them; if he survived.

'Are they being controlled?' he wondered as he struck down two individuals standing near each other. 'Or are they actually sick with something?' Either seemed logical in a bizarre fight such as this.

Bakura could not seem to find the answer, either. What he did find was a new confidence in himself. He still hated killing, even the idea of it—but as he crouched, moving from point to point in near silence, he was proud of his abilities, for they meant he could protect his own if necessary. The thick of battle was still ahead of him, but he had managed to quietly take out key positions that would have called for backup if necessary; or possible.

As he stood at the precipice of the bulk of the fighting, trading his knife for the gun at his side, the static hissed in his ear once more. He paused, waiting for further instructions. What he got instead made his blood run cold.

"Bakura? I…You're doing a great job, but I felt that I needed to tell you this, I know you'd want me to." Mai's voice was calm, but even with their distance he could almost see the discomfort in her posture. "They did the count, and redid the count, and there are two missing kids. I think you know who's missing."

He did.

"Keep an eye out for them. We'll do the same, of course."

Raising his hand, he gave her the peace sign. His face was set as solid as stone, as pallid as the last remnants of ashes. His attention focused swiftly on a batch of the Sea's fighters being pushed back by a wounded contingency of the underground. Using his anger and fear to hurry his movements, he swung his gun up and steadied it on his arm.

Bakura fired with a deadly accuracy he never would have been able to explain. Stress does interesting things to people.

In a room far below Bakura's feet, D shifted giddily from foot to foot as he pulled down his sword from its resting place on a shelf. Calling this chamber a storage room had been an understatement. An arsenal of weapons surrounded him, each more impressive and frightening in firepower than the next. It was an impressive array of weaponry. Though, that was not what excited him.

No…while all of this was fascinating, it was because all their stuff was there!

They could leave this place to their fighting and be on the road, back 'home' like they belonged. The boy picked Claire's rifle from the place it hung on the wall, looking upon it in the way he would look upon the person who wielded it. He did the same when carefully cradling the revolver gifted to Bakura. To him, these weapons were more reflections of those he cared about than the killing machines they were. To this boy, the inorganic would be the constant reminders of those he cared for and lost when they aged and died while he did not.

"You act as if they are already dead," his hand said, as D set Bakura's gun down to resituate their packs to make room for it.

"Shut up," the boy replied joyfully, checking the safety on the weapon.

On. Good. It was no one else but Bakura's to use.

"Okay, scratch that…you're in a good mood?"

"Why shouldn't I be? Once we find Claire and Bakura-sama we can leave!"

"Yeah, because these people are just going to let you walk away."

"This confusion, whatever is causing it, is probably going to be the best diversion we get. Now's the chance we've been looking for. I guess Claire wasn't too far off with the tactics she wanted to follow."

If he had a head to shake, D's left hand would have shaken it. "I'm not used to this optimistic vibe you are spewing. Check back in with me once you go back to normal."

"Fine, Dead Weight!" D cheerfully replied. He had found this place on his own and felt confident he could do the same with finding the others. His nose was now accustomed to the smells of the underground city. If he was careful enough, he might be able to catch a familiar scent to guide him.

"You a dog now?"

"Dead weight doesn't speak."

"Oh, I'll give you dead weight, you little—"

There was a rattling noise from a distance, followed by a whirr that wound down to complete silence. Both parties in the room quieted themselves immediately upon hearing the sound. D cocked his head, listening for the clamoring to begin again. It was not the first time he had heard it, but it was the first time it had been so close. Instead, he heard heavy footsteps coming in his general direction. Momentarily abandoning the backpacks and his blade in the center of the room, the boy found a shelf stuffed full of weapons to hide behind. He shoved an assault rifle further onto the shelf it rested on, so it would not jab him in the side, and waited. The smell of gun oil filled his nostrils as he craned his neck to look between the bars to follow the shadows that played through the crack of the door. He had left it open for a quick escape. Now as he crouched in his hiding place, listening to the footsteps become louder by the second, he was questioning his choice.

It was not long before a singular shadow overtook the door, the rubber of the man's boot making a loud clunk against the wood as he kicked it open. D scurried deeper into his hiding place, mindful of the options he had. He could shoot them, but there was the chance this man was a member of this place. Any aggression against them would mean aggression against Claire, or Bakura.

Almost immediately, he realized that he did not have to bother worrying about this man's affiliation with the city. With a congested laugh, the man spoke, and alarm bells went ringing in the boy's mind. The scent of the man soon followed; sweaty and reeking of something foul.

"What luck. We've found it, now. Tribute to the Sea," his garbled words fell upon D's ears, and two things were made clear. One, the physical alarm bells were for this man, the intruder that they all had feared Bakura to be. Two, the boy did not want whatever sickness this individual had to spread.

D had little knowledge on how this person had become contaminated, or how such an infection spread, but he knew he did not want to risk getting this hostile individual's blood anywhere. If he used just his strength, D was certain he could disarm the man and disable him until he found some sort of way to alert the others without causing a potential outbreak. Perhaps he could kill him without any major bodily fluids expelling from him. No…there would be a natural expulsion. Knock him out it was, then.

The only other issue was the Mini gun that hung from the strap around him, still in his discolored, veiny hands.

"Do you think I'm fast enough to dodge a bullet?" the boy questioned his hand.

The intruder shifted his weight and faced where the child was kneeling in his hidden corner.

"Dunno, but I'd say make your move now, kid. He's caught you."

D bolted from his cover, filled with alarm that he had spoken loud enough to be heard, and with even more that the barrel of such a weapon was pointed at him. Not wasting time trying to make sounds to appear human, he flung himself into the air with the grace of a bird in flight. The bullets that peppered the wall where he had stood pinged uselessly against and into the wall, entirely missing their target. In mid-air, the boy twisted his frame to offer a panicked killing kick to the intruder's skull. What the boy had not considered was how near the man had been to the opposing wall. Still in motion, ever closer to colliding with the uneven wall, he switched his strategy. Pushing his foot back, he caught himself upon what sufficed as the door frame and swung his knee out to deliver the hit.

Having to stop himself had slowed his movements enough that the force was not enough to end the man's life, but it certainly knocked him out. D leapt from his precarious perch and positioned his feet beside either side of the intruder's head. The boy had been privy to his father's experiments. He would have called this a possible failure if it had had even an iota of his father's handywork upon it. It did not.

"What do you think it means?" he asked the air, placing his left hand upon a clammy brow. "What is he sick with? Is he even ill?"

"He's ill alright," his hand replied, muffled by the pressure the boy applied. "Something's affecting his immune system…but I think you're fine."

"And if anyone else were to come in contact?"

"Eh…I wouldn't try it. Although, I admit, I don't think this is your usual case of the sniffles."

"I see," the boy muttered, then spun on his heel as he heard someone creep up behind him. Shaking breaths previously muffled by the loud whirr and battering sounds of the massive weapon laying uselessly at the intruder's side became apparent in the hushed atmosphere. As did the soft patter of purposeful footsteps. D's breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of who edged their way into the room. There was clear fear in their stance, but the sheer bravery of following such a dangerous person…

"Claire!" he cried, surprised but elated.

"D?" The girl looked flabbergasted by the image before her. The boy in his final years before edging into manhood stood just above the hulking man she had been tailing, the one she had been debating on how to fell such a beast. Somehow, her friend had managed it. She ran into his arms and clung to him with a hug strong enough to make his back crack. He returned it without argument. "How though?" she asked once she let him go.

"Dhampir."

"Oh yeah."

She circled the man as D moved back to their backpacks. Thankfully, the bullets had somehow missed them. D sighed in relief. Claire nudged the man's fingers away from his weapon with her foot, taking a tentative jump back at her own action before tiptoeing forward again to get a better look at the sleeping giant.

"Shouldn't we kill him?" she inquired, pointing at his bruised visage. The man's chest rose and fell at a strange and halting pace. "I mean, he doesn't look too good anyway."

"We might risk contamination," the boy replied.

"Not through sweat though," his hand pipped up. "So you don't have to worry about dummy over here who rubbed his hands all over your shirt."

"Stop it," Claire said, giggling. "He did not. Why are you always so mean to him? Cut him some slack."

"You do it already."

"Whatever. Gimmie my gun." She grasped the air quickly in D's direction. He passed her the rifle, which she promptly checked over. He found great amusement in seeing her so meticulous about even the smallest scuff upon the barrel.

"Now all we need is Bakura-sama," he said, once she appeared satisfied. His hand seemed displeased with how it had been treated by someone usually just as interested in picking on its carrier as it was and jerked away from its task of zipping up the bag to leave them with one last bit of its mind.

"Yeah, wherever he is."

"We'll find him, Mr. Butthead," Claire said, silencing D's hand once again. D did not know why she was being so nice to him, but the boy did not use this opportunity to question her motives. He just accepted it.

"Maybe we should drop him off somewhere so that he doesn't wake up where he can cause any more damage?" D nudged the man with his foot, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Uhmm…dunno. I don't want to be corralled into the time-out room again. You're a jerk when we're in there."

"Ha ha. I'm serious."

"Yeah, you are."

The boy rolled his dark eyes to the ceiling, crossing his arms, waiting for her to finish. Claire snickered at his reaction.

"How would we even move him?" she asked, becoming serious. She was not wholly ignorant to their predicament.

D shrugged. "If we move the gun, I don't see why I couldn't just carry him to the entrance and finish him off somewhere around there."

"Wouldn't that, like, poison the area though?"

"I don't know."

"You, of all people, don't kn—"

"The hell is goin' on here?!"

The shout startled the pair, so immersed in their conversation, that their spring into action became a clumsy mess. While Claire swung to the owner of the voice with her gun at the ready, D had to dodge to the side, otherwise be hit by the barrel of said rifle. He righted himself quickly enough, his legs spread in a stance he had learned from Ewan, arms up and ready for a fight. Before them was a very familiar woman, as vicious and severe looking as ever, who peered at them with curiosity before kicking the unconscious intruder with a little more force than necessary. His head rolled, limp, to the side as she spoke.

"Holy shit," she said, a hint of pride and bafflement in her voice. "You guys do this?"

"Back off," Claire warned, using the time the woman took to smile at her amusedly to start scooting back to a better position for a shot. The woman did not. Instead, she twisted a knob upon a walkie talkie at her hip and gave them one more appraising look.

"Good news," she said into her headset, "found the kids." She then twisted the knob back and repeated the information.

"Do you know how much grief you guys have caused?" Jael asked, although her chastisement was lacking; she was still impressed that they had taken down such an enemy.

"Where's Bakura-sama?" D demanded. He did not care as to how much grief he caused this city. As soon as he and Claire gathered who they were missing, he intended to get out of there.

"Don't worry about where he is right now."

"Don't tell us what to do!" Claire shouted, her finger on the trigger. "He asked where he was. I'll shoot you if you don't tell him. I will!"

She laughed. "I appreciate your dedication and your sass, but if you did shoot me, everyone in charge just heard you say that." She tapped at the microphone near her lips. "And you'd be up Shit Creek without a paddle. It'd be no skin off my nose either, I'd be dead. But…I don't want you guys to worry. You'll see him soon."

"Is he safe?" D tried to keep his voice steady. He could see on her face it was not so.

"He's doing something he promised he was going to do," she said.

"You probably forced him to," Claire muttered, lowering the barrel of the gun. She knew there was no point in posturing anymore. She could handle killing people, but she did not want to kill anyone innocent while trying to get out of there. Too many innocent people, stupid, but innocent, had probably died because of the unconscious man before them. The girl had no intention of making the situation worse. Especially if they did not have Bakura with them.

"Nah, he actually volunteered. I told him not to go."

"What?! Why?!" They both cried in alarm. Jael shook her head and placed a hand on D's left and Claire's right shoulder.

"You'll have to ask him. Now come on, let's get out of here. I'll take you somewhere safe…and if you want, if it makes you feel more comfortable, you can bring your stuff."

Claire's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Bakura already proved you all aren't enemies, so I'm going to take you to one of his friends. They have no reason to fear you, so don't fear them. But no one is going to bother you guys in their care." She snickered to herself. "Apparently, he has friends in high places."

"Why should we trust you?"

"I'm many things," Jael confessed to them. "But I try my hardest not to be a liar. You guys watched the games, right?"

D tentatively nodded. "We did not see the end of it, though. They pulled us away before we could."

"You know Bakura was going to win."

"Yeah."

"I didn't take that from him. Even though there was something very important in it for me."

Not completely convinced, D shrugged, allowing Jael to guide Claire and him to whoever Bakura's friend was. Not many other viable options seemed open to them. Also, if Bakura had volunteered for something that this woman found dangerous, D knew the young man would not want to be followed. It was aggravating, this disregard for his very human life. It was not like Bakura was as resilient as he was. The boy quietly hoped for his safe return, trailing just behind their captor.

Again.

He was not happy about it.